Alcohol; the UK's number one substance to indulge in, and as the UK blasts alcohol advertisement to keep up with the 'demand', is it harming our society because of the marketing and addictive impacts? Following the UK's tobacco advertisement ban in 2009; due to its hard-hitting health defects and addictive nature, is the next step banning alcohol advertisements to help protect our countries health?
The NHS Health Survey for England 2018 stated that "In England in 2018, 82% of adults drank alcohol in the past 12 months, with 49% of adults drinking at least once a week." With such a large majority of the population enjoying a drink every week its critical that the UK can solve the issues around alcohol, because, "alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15-49 year-olds in the UK, and the fifth-biggest risk factor across all ages". With such a large amount of the population drinking and more than just adults being affected, the health and harm risks are far greater, with things like alcohol addiction eliminating disaster.
Alcohol addiction has both physical and psychological causes, as well as internal and external risk factors. Just like tobacco, the substance of alcohol is extremely addictive, physical addiction to alcohol is caused by the chemical response in the brain, whereas "psychological addiction is when someone uses alcohol to cope with a psychological need. For instance, someone who feels unhappy with their boss and work environment may use alcohol to cope with that unhappiness." As alcohol addiction climbs into the lives of all "there are an estimated 586,780 dependent drinkers in 2017/18" measuring the high quantity of alcohol addiction sufferers in the UK who keep battling with the everyday effects of alcohol advertisements.
As addiction grows and the so-called 'demand' continues, alcohol advertisements will continue to lock the UK's population into this back and forth, addiction to demand cycle. To delve deeper into the problematic habits of excessive drinking and how much people can be harmed by alcoholism...
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My mother is my main inspiration for making this project. Before I was born she suffered a stroke at the age of 25 which was caused by an uncommon blood disorder. The stroke lead her to partially lose eye-sight on the left side as well as affecting the nervous system causing her to have a continually shaking arm. This meant my mum was classed as disabled meaning she couldn't have a job, drive a car or do any normal things but being the strong woman she is, she managed to live her life to the fullest potential; getting married, having kids, owning a nice house etc. After bringing myself and my sister up she turned to alcohol to try and 'heal' the pain she feels from the physical effects of the stroke as well as helping her mental health by taking her mind off it and keeping her busy day-to-day. After using alcohol for 5 years she came to the realisation she was depended and got admitted to rehab a few months later. She completed rehab and is continuing to stay sober to this day, although things can be challenging, especially living in the UK. I realised that not only my mother was affected by her alcohol use, but my whole family was also impacted seriously making me understand how dangerous alcohol can be, not only for the drinker. This project is a homage to every single person affected by drinking and asking for help when it comes to the UK's alcohol advertising strategies.
Across the UK many addicts similar to my mother face difficulty every day fighting their addiction, as well as the innocent bystanders that are being effected around the addict / over-user. "Social learning theories contend that advertising creates positive images of alcohol consumption and thus increases the demand for alcohol".
This must be strenuous on the UK's NHS having to keep up with the amount of alcohol-related problems alongside the cost of treating alcohol-related health issues. If a law was put in place to defer the promotion of alcohol, addicts and over users may feel stronger to fight their issues, leaving the NHS to tend to other sick patients.
"The number of alcohol-related hospital admissions has risen by 60 per cent in the last decade... At least 1.3 million people were admitted to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis linked to alcohol in 2018, according to a report from NHS Digital." With the statistics confirming that the number of people attending hospital due to alcohol issues is growing, there is clearly a need for a drastic change when it comes to the promotion and advertisements of alcohol.
And with more people drinking alcohol, it seems more normal than ever, "social learning theory argues that advertising contributes to the perception of drinking as a legitimate and normal activity in society (Bandura 1986; Grube 1995)".
To find out more information about alcohol advertisements affecting mental/physical health and the NHS, I spoke with Dr Rose, one of London's NHS surgeons.
Norway is a country who have decided to ban alcohol adverts since 1975.
Its a "statutory law, with corresponding regulations, that concerns the marketing of alcoholic beverages" in section 9-2, first paragraph, of the Alcohol Act, with detailed rules in Chapter 14 of the Alcohol Regulations.
The alcohol act chapter 9 stipulates: “Advertising of alcoholic beverages shall be prohibited. (...) Alcohol advertisement means any form of mass communication for the purpose of marketing, including advertisements in printed matter, films, radio, television, telephone networks, data networks, illuminated advertisements, hoardings, signboards and similar devices, depictions, exhibitions and the like, distribution of printed matter, trade samples etc.”
From the evidence found in Norway, it's suggested: "Marketing volume restrictions are expected to decrease the total volume of alcohol advertisements where young people are exposed to, and are consequently expected to decrease the total alcohol consumption of adolescents." Even though TV channels abroad can still broadcast their adverts to the Norwegian market and editorials are still allowed to display alcoholic beverages.
To get more of a feel for the excessive amount of UK alcohol advertisements, I walked around my local shopping centre in London to find out how many adverts caught my eye and how they were being advertised.
As you can see in the video below, alcohol adverts were everywhere I turned and hard to escape.
Supermarkets and shops were jam-packed of deals, offers and cheap prices when it came to alcohol. "Promotional deals by supermarkets such as ‘3 bottles of wine for £10’ or half-price lager have been seen as contributory factors to the increase in binge drinking in the UK". And "Last year British drinkers were expected to consume more beer from supermarkets than from pubs for the first time." Meaning these kinds of advertisements are luring the public in more and more. "Advertising also may increase competition and reduce prices. Thus, advertising bans are predicted to lower alcohol consumption."
In 2012 An aide to David Cameron told The Daily Telegraph: "The PM has made very clear that he thinks the availability of cheap alcohol is a problem. It is not secret that this is an issue that the PM is concerned about.” Then a plan was put in place a minimum price on alcohol, being no less than 40p a unit. To which Stephen Robertson, the director-general of the British Retail Consortium, which represents the UK’s supermarkets, responded with: “Increasing the cost of alcohol would not achieve its desired goal of curbing alcohol abuse. People who abuse alcohol are not sufficiently susceptible to price for it to make any difference.”
So if increasing the price of units will "not achieve its desired goal of curbing alcohol abuse" according to Robertson, surly a ban on alcohol advertisements will?
After, I decided to speak to London commuter Henry Nash (below) from Southfields about his experiences with alcohol advertisements on his daily journey.
Then I decided to look into areas where alcohol is primarily advertised, one being TFL. The government banned the act of drinking on TFL on June 1st, 2008. Then they decided to ban junk food adverts of February 25, 2019, to which "a public consultation launched in May found 82 per cent of Londoners support a junk food advertising ban." Demonstrating that the public and the UK government really do agree with promoting a healthy lifestyle.
But a ban on alcohol is still being questioned..?
Even though the UK government website quite clearly states; "With 30 million journeys made every day on TfL’s network, its advertising sites offer a key opportunity to promote good food and a healthy lifestyle."
TFL Worker Joe Stubbs says:
“In 2018 fast food/junk food ads were banned from being advertised anywhere on tfl network, (underground, busses etc) however alcohol adverts are still allowed, I remember seeing like Jack Daniels or Carlsberg ads recently. In terms of the contract all the advertising is done through one company, which I think is called global. I also found that alcohol ads aren’t allowed to show alcohol being consumed, in a way that expresses excess drinking or drinking when you shouldn’t (i.e someone drinking while driving).”
So whats stopping TFL from banning alcohol adverts if junk food adverts have already been in high favour for banishment? Is it to save money?
Well, they managed to pay out "£16,155" to ban junk food adverts, so why wouldn't they be able to afford to ban alcohol adverts?
With both alcohol and junk food being high contenders in an unhealthy lifestyle, why one is more favoured for banishment than the other is absurd! And a choice made by the government and NOT the people.
After finding out how many adverts are broadcasted around London I wanted to get more information around how addicts fight against their temptations, especially with the UK's advertising scheme. I spoke to a family friend & X-alcoholic Warwick about his experiences with alcohol advertisements.
Being a former alcoholic, what temptations do you struggle with on a daily basis when recovering?
"The daily struggles are the pub culture of England and the majority of my friends are drinkers."
Do you feel alcohol advertisements promote their product in a positive way, why?
"Not really the advertises spend fortunes on aiming to reach the right demographic and as long as that product sells I don’t think they worry about the after-effects."
If alcohol advertisement was banned in the UK, do you think more addicts like your former self would recover faster?
"No, we’re made aware of alcohol in this country by friends and relatives far before advertising."
If alcohol advertisements were to promote alcohol in a more realistic manner (like how they package tobacco with the bad images) how do you see it being successful?
"Definitely to see a man or woman yellow with liver seriousness on the front of a bottle would have quite an effect. A hell of a lot the advertising companies should pass over a percentage of their products to the NHS."
Would banning alcohol advertisements affect the UK negatively, why?
"England is known throughout Europe as a bunch of unfit piss heads already. But from a business side yes because they may choose to make their production elsewhere thus creating many job loses in the UK."
Chris Hawkey writes in The Guardian “while both cigarettes and alcohol claim thousands of lives every year, alcohol’s effects are significantly worse because, unlike cigarettes, alcoholism ruins lives and the drinker’s sense of self-worth. - How much do you agree with this and why?
"I would definitely agree with that, and my reasons are simple if had quite a few friends die because of the effects of alcohol physically and mentally."
Now I take you back to my mother, explaining her everyday difficulties in fighting addiction and advertising temptations.
So many addicts / over users like my mother and Warwick struggle with the advertising that is currently broadcasted all across the country. I decided to speak next to Lydia from the Advertising Standards Authority about how their organisation regulates alcohol adverts and if its enough to save the next generation from being destroyed?
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Both tobacco and alcohol are extremely addictive substances that both harm your health, how do you think this taken into account within contemporary alcohol advertisements?
“Yes, it’s something our rules seems to reflect, obviously tobacco advertisement is banned entirely and it’s important to differentiate between the harm that Tabacco as a product has and the harm that alcohol as a product has. In that one cigarette is going to be harmful to anybody’s health whereas alcohol is a product that can be and is (in the majority of cases) consumed responsibly. So we do already have really strict rules hen it comes to alcohol advertising which includes things like targeting and under 18’s can’t be targeted, alcohol can’t be in children’s media or anywhere where there is an audience of under 25% or more under 16s and they also have content and social responsibility rules, the things that can be portrayed in ads and linking alcohol to things like sexual success or popularity and humour”.
With your alcohol 18 & 19 codes restricting both broadcast and non-broadcast advertisements, do you think that is enough to help prevent alcohol abuse and addiction?
“Yes, our rules are tough and our rules and sticky regulated so advertising may have a small role to play in any alcohol health-related harm issues but there are other factors when it comes to things like alcohol abuse and addictions including socialite and cultural influences, peer pressure, family relationships other things that may lead people to drink or view alcohol in an irresponsible way. Alcohol ads should be responsible and as a regulator, it is our role to be aware of the wider picture surrounding issues and we are absolutely confident that we can and do ban ads that break the rules but also we don't see the major players overstepping the mark, yes there are a few cases of bad ads but there are far a few in between in terms of the general picture of ad bans as its a sector that does know and follow the rules.”
In April 2015 tobacco advertisements got banned in the UK, could the same thing happen with alcohol?
“I don't think it would happen, at least not in the near future. An ad band for all alcohol products would be something that wouldn’t be necessary or that would be a proportional step from the point of view that our rules have to be based on evidence and they also reflect legislation and alcohol is a legally available product that can be responsibly enjoyed and is responsibly used by adults in the majority so a ban would be for the government, as a regulator we don't think this needs to happen. Tobacco was banned but it absolutely does harm in every incident whereas that’s not the case with alcohol, in the drinking guidelines you can drink it moderately without it damaging your health which isn’t possible with a product like tobacco.”
Most of the media corporations focus on the harm on young people that alcohol advertising effects, what are your opinions on young people being most influenced to drink because of advertisements?
“I think ads only play a small part and I think there are a lot of factors that result in young people drinking and the figures from the Portman group show that there is a decline in underage drinking in the UK and the majority of younger people in that bracket (16-24y) don’t exceed their low-risk drinking guidelines so it's showing a downward trend. Through our rules young people cannot be targeted, that covering things like content, appeal anything that might be associated with or relative of youth culture, I think there is a difference between brand recognition and a young person seeing an alcohol ad isn’t always going to lead to them consumed alcohol or the product shown in that ad. A young person seeing an alcohol ad isn’t necessarily a problem it’s only a problem if that leads to underage drinking or drinking irresponsible amounts which we don’t see the evidence for that.”
What volume of complaints does the ASA receive based the public being affected by on alcohol adverts?
“Not massive, I think it's fairly low”
“An influencer was advertising alcohol and the ads were banned because the influencer was under 25 and looked under 25.”
What benefits do alcohol advertisements bring to the UK in ASA’s opinion?
“I think, as a regulator, we need to be independent and fair with these things and because alcohol is a legally available product, alcohol companies are completely within their rights to advertise said product to consumers in order for them to purchase it, if they stick to the rules that we enforce around what they can and cannot do within those ads then it's not a problem.”
After speaking directing to the UK's advertising organisation the next best thing would be contacting someone within the UK government to see if they agreed with me.
Deputy Mayor of Southwark & Councillor Barrie Hargrove comments:
"Although I am supportive of preventing advertising of very strong beers and lagers, even to go as far as restricting their availability, I am not in favour of a blanket ban on advertising alcohol drinks. I think the entertainment industry, especially restaurants add to the cultural vibrancy of the society, and I think that the availability of drinks like wine can enhance the experience for many people. Over the years, however, there have been instances of what I regard as distasteful advertising of alcohol products, which for instance celebrate and encourage “laddish” culture, and I would not be disappointed if this type of alcohol advertising was restricted or even possibly banned. So in a nutshell, I am not in favour of a blanket ban on alcohol advertising but I do have concerns about (a) some products, and (b) the way others are promoted."
Admitting there needs to be changed is the first step. With powerful members of the UK's government acknowledging that alcohol advertisements are in need of change is only the beginning. If the people in the UK are more health-conscious and aware than ever, banning alcohol adverts is the next step in achieving just that.
The banishment of tobacco advertisements occurred in in 1965 under the Television Act 1964 in which has recently lead to the "number of UK smokers falling by nearly two million in 10 years." So if the UK government were able to do the same thing with alcohol, we would see the same or similar decrease.
So I decided after all of my research, emotional interviews and motivated will-power, to start a petition alongside this campaign project. Calling out to Boris Johnson about campaigning for the UK to completely ban alcohol advertisements.
A campaign by Izabel Rose
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